Lithium silicon composition



Patented 1.935 f v r v I r v a 1,997,340 LITHIUM SILICON ooMPosrrioN Hans osborg, Teaneck, 3., 'assignorto May-,

i wood Chemical Works, Maywood, N. J., a corp'oration of New Jersey v 7 No Drawing. Original application July 8, 1930, Serial No. 466,584, now'Patent No.1,869,494. Divided and this application, July 28, 1932. Serial No.- 525,543 7 t V v Y .9.Claims. (0113-204) t. The present invention relates to compositions is to be noted that generally the compositions containing lithium and silicon which are stable do not have cleargcut melting points, althoughin and whichlcan be usedinclustrially'ior various some instances 'distinctmelting or, fusion points purposes; i have been observed.

It is an object or the inventionto provide stable j 5 "compositions containing silicon and lithium W U I which can be made, handled and sold as an artii cle of commerceand which canbemanufactured $532 2 Composition v solig i i itioi 10 in a simple; practiclal and satisfactory manner l j @t t r l It is a further object of the invention to pro- 1 Abouum w 60% 2%? .vide compositions containing lithium and silicon" 2 Abl1t5% i i- Abut625 which are non-deliquescentand which are prac 3 Sl about4 o% 1 tically unaffected. by. oxygen or'nitrogen in dryv C Ablut L Agggg .15 air at room temperature. t t

It. is another object of the invention to pro- 9 vide .a method of producing compositions-cona -E i ee w s o h sohdlfi taining lithium and siliconwhich contain lithium fi Poms; the COIQPOSIFIOHS were heated and and Silicon, amounts; .proportmnal the reheated to several times above about 700 C.

20 3 amounts of lithium and silicon used'in the re- After thedecermnationg the'products were ob; 20

acting mixture; v a served to be'without change in composition. In It is also within the contemplation ofthe inother words no fie q apparently lvention toipmvide relatively Stable and highly curred andno, distillation of constituents took Lreactiv er compositions containing lithium and place. This feature of the present invention is 5 siliconwhichcan be used industrially for various lmportanti demonstrates the outstanding f l purposes; i v I and critical difierence from prior art lithiuml Other objects and advantages ofthe invention ,51110011 products and the present productswill become apparent fromthe following descrip- The Properties Possessed-l by lithium'smcon tion: compositions *are valuable particularly from an Broadly stated,'the present inventioncontemrpoint of view. or instance, the pres- 30 plates the provision of compositions of lithium ent compqsiiwns can be powd-Predi and silicon which' 'are'stable' even at temperaatmospherlc temperatures or m m Wlthl turesin' excess of 500 CL, 600 C. or 700C which gentle dry rin If ro l' 15 can be stored 'for relatively long periods of time Ployed, sparkmg The lump product can without substantially any deterioration and be Stored in a Stopper bottle'for relatively long 35 I which are" chemically' active. and especially periods of time- It is unnecessary to evacuate adapted for the refining, purification and imthe t as w sa y w h some P 0 a provements of metals and alloys. The lithiumv j The only change wh takes P e is silicon compositions embodying the present the formation of a white film in moist air. This 7 4 ventiona have. relatively h specifi r mm film apparently protects the solid substance from 40 and solidification points as compared with prior f j n Q W present p d I productsiiand are generally dense, hard .and 1S Powdehquescent and has a gray gray britfla e gives t pecific gravity pf few bluish color. In contrast to the foregoing propt p l v1 1-, 1 b i embodying erties the prior art product, such as Moissans,v

thepresent inventioni" and silicon contents and Table II gives thesolidi- 40% to about 85% are believed to be the most a 60 fication points of afew typical compositions." It important. l

is deliquescent and decomposes to a powder when 45 exposed to theair.

Table I. a p Chemically. and metalllurg ically, the present I l t v a .l lithium-silicon compositionisvery active. It re- 1 itg i- 3 I: -l p Specific gravity acts violently with water to form spontaneously 1 p i t combustibleproducts. When the composition is 50 1 About i0% Siandabout60%Li About 1. immersed inacaustic alkali solution orinaqueous 2 Abut5o%siandahllp5o%l*if ammonia; hydrogen is evolved. In the metalls Aboiiteo% si'amiaboutio z, Li *Abo'ut L40 (1-.3 lurgical treatment of molten metals and alloys, 4 Abol1t7 5 siaiidabout%Li attain (1.70- it has been found that composition t benea 1.75). ficially and refines, purifies andnnproves the l h i v treated metalor alloy. From a practicalandiin-l The solidification points vofj the presentflithdustrial point f V w m-s i m s r ium-sili'ccmn compositions vary with the lithium tions having a silicon content varying from about" w The improved lithium-silicon compositions de- Y ess which comprises heating a mixture of lithium; I V

and silicon at a temperature lying within a range from about 400 C. to about 700 C. in'a chamber under a high or practically absolute vacuum or in an inert atmosphere ofrare gas or its equivalent. When a mixture oflithium and silicon is treated by my method, I obtain several different. compositions which dependupon the amountof lithium and silicon used in the reacting mixture. One type consists of a multiplicity of substantially uniform, dark silvery gray crystals. A second type consists of blue orchid masses in the form of plates somewhat resembling slate. 'A third typeof crystals are light gray in color which appearto carry free lithium. This lithiumseems to be the amount in excess of that needed to form the composition of silicon and lithium. These aforesaidcrystals changed from their original color to a purplish blue on the edge portions thereof upon exposure to the atmosphere. Usually this color change occurs after an exposure to the atmosphere of about two-to three seconds. 1

Lithium-silicon compositions of the first type f are hard and brittle and have a metallic luster.

The outer surface or skims of these compositions 1 take on a coat of decomposition products, mostly carbonates and nitrides, which protect the in- .terior thereof. Compositions of the second and third types are friable, fall to a powder in the v airand react violently with water.

. Upon subjecting the aforesaid crystals to analysis, it was found that silicon and lithium contents were as follows: I

Specimens of Type I 1 40-42% L1- 2 50-53% LL- 47-49% S1 3 60-62% LL- 38-40% Si Specimens of Type II 4 8-9% Li 90-02% Si Specimens of Type III f 5f 90% Li. Si

"The amounts of raw materials. used as ingredients in the production ofthe aforesaid alloys are as follows: i

- Ingredients for Type I compositions Ingredients for Type. II compositions Ingredients for Type III compositions 5 0%Li 10% Si 1 l Willlbe observedthat the percentage of each co pbiientpresem in the finished alloy is prac- .ticauyuirecuy proportional to thepercentage of the component (present in" the reacting l ingredients and'thatthere is practicallyn'o' loss.

The following examplesdescribe procedures for producing the improved high-temperature lithium-silicon compositions.

Example No. 1

A mixture 'containing about 53 parts lithium and about 47 parts of silicon is heated in an appropriate crucible to a temperature of about 600 C. The heating is carried on under a vacvuum which is preferably practically complete.

After thelithium is fused and the reaction temperature is reached, the lithium and silicon combine with each other and form a fused mass. Upon cooling the fused mass, a solid body of substantially uniform dark silvery gray crystals can be observed.v These crystals change from a silvery gray color to a purplish, blue color on the edge portions thereof when exposed to the temperature for a relatively short period, say about five seconds. An analysis of a composition made in accordance showed that silicon was present to the extent of about 47 and lithium was present to the extent of about 53%. After the initial color change, it was found that the crystals were non-deliquescent and could be handled in dry air.

Inpractice, it is-preferred to keep the crystals in a stoppered P013018:

Eatample No. 2

A mixture. of about,20.8. parts of lithium and about 28.3. parts of silicon isheated in a crucible to a temperature of about 600 C.under practically a complete vacuum. After thoroughlyreacting and fusing, the entire mass is permitted to solidify. 'Ihe solidified body thus produced is A mixture of I about 41.6; parts of lithium'and about 2 8.0parts of silicon is heated in a crucible to a temperature of about 600C. The heating is carried on under a practically. complete vacuum. A product produced in accordance with the foregoing has a silvery gray color which becomes discolored upon exposure to the air. An

analysis of the mass made by the foregoing method, showed that the product contained about 40% silicon. and about 60% lithium.- The crystals' in said mass acted the same as noted in connection with Example No. 1. V V

In the foregoing examples I have specified that the heating is carried out in a vacuum but the invention is not limited to this mode of procedure. Other appropriate procedures can be employed. For instance, instead of employing a vacuum,.I may heat the lithium and silicon in an atmospherev of inert gas or gases such as rare gases like helium. Instead of rare gases, anatm osphere of lithium or silicon or a mixture thereof maybe employed. A lithium atmosphere, however, is rather costly and I recommend preferably heating the mixture of lithium and silicon under a practically complete vacuum. I have found that I can; alsoproduce myi=new compositionof matter by reacting lithium-and silicon in thevapor-phase atan elevatedtemperatureandfby condensing the product of -a .uum. When thus conducted, .the condensed product has practically the same composition and properties as noted hereinabove in connection with the illustrative examples.

In some instances, I have found it desirable to use a compound of silicon, such as iron silicide, copper silicide, nickel silicide or the like instead of silicon. For instance by heating a mixture containing about 50 parts of lithium and .50 parts of iron silicide containing about80% silicon in a crucible to a temperatureof about 600 C. under a high vacuum, I have been able to obtain a relatively stable composition of lithium and silicon. The product of the aforesaid reaction has a gray color and becomes discolored upon exposure to the atmosphere. An analysis of the product showed that silicon was present to the extent of about 51.5%, lithium was present to the extent of about 41.9% and iron constituted approximately the balance. i

In practice I have foundit desirable to add an excess of iron silicide so as to embed the lithiumsilicon composition in a shell of iron silicide or; to distribute the lithium-silicon composition in a mass of iron silicide; Instead of using an excess of iron silicide, an excess of silicon can beused in the foregoing examples and the lithiLun-silicon composition will then be embedded in a shell of silicon. In otherinstances copper silicide, etc., can be employed instead of iron sili- .cide.

The foregoing mixtures of lithium-silicide and iron silicide are useful in the iron industry wheree as the foregoing mixtures of lithium silicide and copper silicide are useful in the "copper industry.

In some cases, a lower percentage or amount of silicon may be employed so as to embed the lithium-silicon composition in lithium. I

It is to be observed that the present invention provides lithium-silicon compositions which are is especially useful as an improving, purifying and scavenging agent. The composition has been 'tion of the character set forth found to be useful in purifying and scavenging processes and particularly in the processes dis-' closed in my (lo-pending applications, Serial #467,625, filed July 12, 1930 now Pat. No. 1,869,-

495; Serial #480,179, filed September6, 1930 now 1 Pat. No. 1,869,496; Serial #582,490 now Pat. No.

1,869,497, Serial #582,491 now Pat. No. 1,869,498, Serial #582,492 now Pat. No. 1,869,499, Serial #582,493 now Pat. No. 1,869,979, and Serial #582,-

494 now Pat. No. 1,869,980, filed December 21,

- The present application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 466,584, filed July 8, 1930,.now Patent No. 1,869,494, and entitled Compositions containing lithium and silicon and process of producing same.

I'claim: i Y LA high temperature lithium-silicon composition composed of lithium and silicon and substantially free from decomposition even at temperatures of the order of 700 C. and under inert atmospheres. a

A stable, high temperature lithium-silicon composition composed of lithium and silicon and being non-deliquescent.

3. A high temperature lithium-silicon composiin claim 1 which contains iron silicide.

.4. A hightemperature lithium-silicon composition of the character set forth in claim 1 which contains nickel silicide.

5. A high temperature lithium-silicon composition of the character set forth in claim 1 which contains copper silicide. i

6. A stable, high temperature lithium-silicon composition composedof about 40% silicon and,

about 60% lithium and possessing a specific gravity of about one and a solidification point ofabout 500 C. to about 550 C.

7. A stable, high temperature lithium-silicon composition composed of about 60% silicon and about 40% lithium and possessing a specific gravity of about 1.3 to about 1.5 and a solidification point of about 680 C. to about700 C. U I

' 8. A stable, high temperature lithium-silicon composition composed of about 75% silicon and about lithium and possessing a specific gravity of about 1 .7 and a solidification point of about 700 C. to about 750 C.

9 A lithium-silicon composition containing about 25 to about 60% lithium, said composition being substantially free from decomposition even at temperatures of the order of 700 C. and under an inert atmosphere, and being dense, hard and brittle, and having a metallic luster.

HANS OSBORG. 

